Cold weather conditions to continue until mid-August- UNMA

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda National Meteorological Authority-UNMA has said that the current cold weather conditions experienced in most parts of the country will continue until mid-August.

In a statement released on Friday, Festus Luboyera, UNMA executive director says since June, there has been a visible drop in both maximum and minimum temperatures over most parts of the country with some areas such as Kigezi sub-region occasionally having their night temperatures dropping below 10 degrees celsius.

“Significant decrease in minimum temperature (night temperatures) is expected in areas of south-western, western, Lake Victoria basin and Mt Elgon sub-region,” he noted.

He added that the cold weather phenomenon is due to the inflow of southerly cold winds from southern hemisphere such as southern Africa that is currently experiencing winter conditions.

Yusuf Nsubuga, a weather analyst at the UNMA points out that this is not a new experience since it prevails every year around the same time. He adds the impact depends on the winter in the South as some winters are more severe than others.

He adds that the cold weather is at times associated with moderate winds with the potential of causing some impacts across different sectors including but not limited health, agriculture, and transport.

“For example, the winds from the south at times come along with some dust particles carried from the Kalahari desert. The dust plus the foggy conditions always result in poor visibility which poses dangers to the transport sector thus warning motorists and pedestrians,” says Nsubuga.

The traffic police director Basil Mugisha says that when such conditions occur, police report an increase in road accidents mostly in valleys and wetland cross-sections in early morning hours.

He advises motorists to keep their fog light on and also reduce their speed.

Weather analysts note that chilly conditions are linked to several respiratory diseases like Asthma, Pneumonia and common colds advising the public more so the young, old and some others with pre-existing health issues to adapt warm clothing to guard against such diseases.

To farmers, the cloudy and cool conditions come with a mixed benefits favouring the late-planted crops but slowing down growth and maturation of crops and also affecting flowering and fruit formation. Nsubuga notes that this impact will be highly experienced in the southern parts of the country.

Nsubuga says that the Northern and north-eastern part of the country is expected to continue receiving normal rains up to around September with the southern sector getting small drizzles which also reduces as you move towards the west.

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